Income During Retirement

While many of us dream of retiring early, most work past the age when they thought they’d be living on a beach, drink in hand. But that doesn’t have to be the case—there are tons of ways to make money even after you’ve left your fulltime job.

If you’ve followed Jason Hartman’s advice, you’ve been in real estate for a long time and are making enough passive income to live on. If you’re a little late to the game (it’s okay, we’ll forgive you!) it isn’t too late. But making enough to live on, especially if the goal is early retirement, is difficult when your only source is passive income.

Rental properties are a great place to begin. Though you may encounter unexpected repairs, you’ll generate some amount of positive cash flow if you’ve done it right.

You might also passively make money by participating in peer to peer lending programs. If you’ve got some money to lend, you’ll receive a pretty high return on investment (ideally, above 10% for doing nothing). This can be dangerous though—if someone defaults on their loan, it can be hard to recoup your cash.

If you’ve got a savings account, you should be able to generate a little bit of money. But be smart about how much you’re saving—Jason Hartman believes that money should have to work too. Don’t let your money be lazy if you’ve got the option of investing it in properties, which will always be in demand.

And if passive income just isn’t enough, remember that a lot of retirees (especially those who aimed for a very early retirement) work part time. This can look like a traditional job, or can be freelance work of some sort. If you’ve got the time to develop a skill, you can easily work a few hours a week from home and earn enough to cover much of your living expenses. A few hours of work from home is a small sacrifice for retiring early and still having some cash in the bank and a diversified portfolio. Best of all? You can do these jobs from just about anywhere.

If you prefer people or miss the corporate lifestyle, a lot of companies look for part time employees that are highly skilled. You might be able to find a job that involves your passions, which will be highly fulfilling.